Capital District Times

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's legislation, the Countering CCP Drones Act, has passed the House of Representatives with overwhelming bipartisan support. The act aims to add Communist Chinese drone company Da-Jiang Innovations (DJI) to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List, thereby prohibiting new models of DJI drones from operating on U.S. communications infrastructure.

"The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed my legislation, the Countering CCP Drones Act, to end the drone monopoly Communist Chinese DJI held in the U.S., protect our skies, and build the U.S. drone industrial base," said Congresswoman Elise Stefanik. "For years, the U.S. government has known that DJI presents unacceptable economic and national security risks but no one was willing to take the necessary steps to remove Communist Chinese spy drones from our skies. That changed today." She added that it is now critical for the Senate to include this legislation in their National Defense Authorization Act.

In March, Rep. Stefanik’s bipartisan Countering CCP Drones Act was unanimously marked up through the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The act is also included in the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025.

The U.S. government has certified multiple times that DJI poses a legitimate national security risk and actions need to be taken to mitigate these risks. Adding DJI to the Covered List aligns with actions previously taken by various U.S. Government agencies:

- In August 2017, an Intelligence Bulletin from a Department of Homeland Security Field Office stated that DJI is providing sensitive U.S. data to the Chinese Government.

- In Fiscal Year 2020's National Defense Authorization Act, Congress banned the Department of Defense from purchasing and using drones and components manufactured in Communist China.

- In December 2020, the Department of Commerce added DJI to its “Entity List” for its role in enabling China’s wide-scale human rights abuses.

- In July 2021, the Department of Defense stated that DJI systems pose a threat to U.S. national security.

- In December 2021, the Department of Treasury added DJI to its list of Chinese Military-Industrial Complex companies due to DJI’s support of biometric surveillance and tracking of ethnic and religious minorities in China.

- In October 2022, DJI was added to the Department of Defense’s 1260H Chinese Military Company list because of its role in advancing People’s Liberation Army modernization efforts.

- In January 2024, both Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and FBI released cybersecurity guidance indicating significant risks posed by Chinese-manufactured drones.

- Also in January 2024, DoD recertified DJI on its 1260H Chinese Military Company list.

Congresswoman Stefanik has led numerous initiatives countering threats posed by Chinese-manufactured drones while promoting growth within the U.S. drone industry:

- Introduced Countering CCP Drones Act initially in February 2022 and reintroduced it in April 2023.

- Co-led American Security Drone Act included in Fiscal Year 2024's National Defense Authorization Act.

- Urged Biden Administration via a bipartisan letter in November 2023 to investigate Autel Robotics backed by CCP.

- Led bicameral letter demanding oversight into DoD's export permissions regarding critical components for DJI.

- Criticized former Obama Attorney General lobbying for DJI publicly in March 2024.

- Introduced Drones for First Responders Act imposing tariffs on Communist Chinese-controlled drones creating grants for secure drone purchases for first responders and critical sectors.

- Advocated DOJ investigation into Drone Advocacy Alliance funded by DJI for potential FARA violations in May 2024.

- Requested USDA & CISA action mitigating risks posed by agricultural spray drones from DJI via September 2024 letter.

Read more about this legislative effort on [the official link](https://stefanik.house.gov/2024/9/stefanik-s-countering-ccp-drones-act-passes-house).